March 4, 2012
St. Bernard parish in the 9th Ward of New Orleans, LA, flung her arms around us in a big, warm, sunny hug and a blue sky kiss. The joy of waking up to warming sun, green grass, uncrowded camping is a truly beautiful experience. We love New Orleans and she loves us. It’s apparent with this burst of spring that she has been awaiting our return, and we are as thankful for her generous spirit as is possible to be.
We have not gone gently into this month of crappy weather. I noodled it out the other day and what I had been telling myself was just “a few weeks” of rain and cold, actually started the first week of February – a month ago! Speaking just for me, and I know that Tony isn’t far behind, because of the gray skies and rain my mood took a dive, we weren’t physically active anymore, didn’t want to travel about and see our environs. Mostly, we wanted to stay inside with a good run of cable channels. Might as well be home.
The drive from Bixoli to NOLA began with me wanting a quick fix – I 10 – and Tony insisting, as he has this whole trip, on “the road less taken”. He won and how glad I am that he did! It was a luscious drive along 90 West, endless white beach coastline, Gulfport, Long Beach, Bay Minnette, Fort Pike, Chalmette.
We had heard about the increased devastation of Katrina on Gulfport and beyond, and lived it through this drive. It is terrible what that hurricane bitch did to these beloved seacoast towns. Blocks and blocks of driveways to nowhere, elegant front steps with no porch or house to complete the journey, sterile beaches with a turbulent, brown mess of bay water, blank lots of land – you can see the mouth, but eight teeth are missing. The houses remaining are so charming and strong it just hurts. Some towns have been more proactive, i.e., had more money, than others and have been able to clean-up and rebuild a bit more in the last five years since Katrina. Some just got to a partial clean-up. All have land for sale.
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| Biloxi blank |
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| Where a house used to be |
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| Empty beachfront |
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| No rebuild yet |
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| Blank spot where a house used to be |
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| Walkway to nowhere |
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| Driveway to nowhwere |
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| Another driveway to nowhere |
We did take advantage of a non-rainy day to visit Beauvoir, the beautiful 18th century eventual Biloxi home of the only Confederate President, Jefferson Davis. It’s called a “Louisiana cottage” style of architecture and sits on 51 of its original 80+ acres. The bitch tried to destroy Beauvoir and nearly succeeded, but Mississippians would not have that! They rebuilt the porch, matched paint, ordered the slate from its original vendor in Ireland – who still had the initial order in their files! – and brought this gracious confederate icon waltzing back to rest gently in her beautiful perch across from the Mississippi Bay.
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| Beauvoir gate to beach |
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| Beauvoir outbuilding |
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| Beauvoir porch and TC |
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| Beauvoir entrance - how elegant! |
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| Four Generations of Davis Women |
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| Beauvoir Front Door Glass |
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| Beauvoir Door |
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| Beauvoir Formal Living Room |
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| Beauvoir Front Door |
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| Beauvoir Informal Living Room w/portrait of Jeff Davis |
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| Katrina Damage to Formal Living Room |
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| Children's Dining Room |
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| Rebel Flag on Left |
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| Beauvoir Reception Hall with Charming Docent |
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| Beauvoir Reception Hall Painted Celing |
Even though Mrs. Davis and her daughter were quite poor after Jefferson passed, they would not sell Beauvoir (“lovely view”), even when offered $90,000.00. Mrs. Davis eventually sold it a prominent woman with the stipulation that it would always serve as a memorial to Mr. Davis, and her tenet has been upheld. It became a gentle retirement home for the veterans of the “Lost Cause”, the Civil War, eventually building barracks, a hospital and chapel for not only the veterans, but their black hand servants, wives and widows. As time passed and those few vets died away, it once again became an historical icon for Mr. Davis. An interesting point – Mr. Davis was arrested and imprisoned for several years after the “Last Unpleasantness”. As he would never give up his idea that the South was right to secede, he is the only US citizen, who never got his citizenship back after the Civil War. He was truly, a “man without a country” - how sad is that? Yet he never backed down from his principle of secession. Many, many southerners hold this to be true, as evidenced by the appearance at every corner, of the rebel flag, or “stars and bars.” Mississippi’s flag reserves a prominent corner of fabric for that particular visual allegiance. And as we were to discover again through conversation, some still seek revolution.
We had decided that since Biloxi is a casino town, we should hit at least one while here. Whenever we gamble, say, every three or four years, it’s done the same way - $20.00 on slots, when it’s gone, it’s gone. I do have a talent for intuiting which machine to play, and this visit was no different. But, before we get into my winnings, let me just say that the Hard Rock is a thing of wonder, to me at least. It is not only beautiful inside, but on display surrounding your walk to the casino are guitars, apparel, pictures and quotes from everybody who is anybody in the music world.
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| Hard Rock Biloxi! |
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| Lennon Jacket |
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| Madonna nipple twirler thingy |
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| Mama's and Papa's Hat |
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| Bonnie Raitt Jacket |
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| Steven Tyler Outfit |
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| Me and my belly at Hard Rock |
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| Timberlake Shirt |
Entering the casino – peeyew!, not used to smoke inside anymore – it looks like every other casino with lots of slots, food and booze. We got the casino card, although these machines take money too – surprising – and started our weave through the penny, nickel, quarter slots. I won’t bore you with the details, but we were victorious and walked out with $40, doubling our seed. We both had fun, and $40 toward our Shula dinner!
Another surprise find on the way is Fort Pike, LA. We toured with a rascally archeologist and his reenactor side-kick, who believe the only way to get America back is to stage a revolution. The beauty is, folks, that although none of us admitted our political leaning, we were all in agreement that something must change, people must take back their country, government must be more efficient. We could not, however, agree on the HOW. Great conversation and a beautiful setting:
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| Bridge to Fort Pike |
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| Fort Pike last stand |
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| Fort Pike window |
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| Fort Pike Curve |
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| Fort Pike Interior |
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| Fort Pike Moat and Bay |
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| Fort Pike Moat and Wall |
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| Fort Pike Smoke Hole for Cannon Fire |
Glad to leave the campground we were in – soggy, kind of depressing really – and head for NOLA (New Orleans Louisiana). We had reservations at St Bernard SP about 20 minutes outside the city, and are delightfully surprised at the location and condition. Much like Skidaway Island SP 15 minutes outside of Savannah, this little jewel of a park is a treasure for travelers like us. Not even half full, the green spacious sites with beautiful oaks and maples are an oasis after the crowded private parks we’ve been in all across the country. I for one am breathing again now that I have room. We picked a spot with a path to the showers/laundry – yes, laundry!
Roku is blissful with woods and places to poo. He immediately meowed his way to the woods, running and jumping. This morning when I called him he lazily sauntered from his flop spot behind Blue, happily warm and drowsy.
It was sooooo cold here last night that we opted for a late hot shower, and can report that these are some of the best showers we’ve had. Hot, hot water, great water pressure, warm room. Add laundry facilities and some up-to-date magazines – spells heaven! Ended the evening with a nutritious bean dip and chips dinner. And although I've lost a few pounds, while in NOLA, all bets are off!
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